Posture Correction Methods

First, bone pathological problems are checked, and then the three steps of releasing tense muscle groups, strengthening weak muscle groups, and establishing daily movement patterns are completed in sequence. All methods need to match the individual's muscle status and living habits to be effective.

Believe it or not, I have met a 27-year-old Internet operator before. Her forward head and rounded shoulders have been bothering her for two years. She followed the online tutorials for three months to practice the YTWL fly and chin tuck exercises, but her shoulders were so stuck that it hurt to raise her arms. After going to the rehabilitation department for a X-ray, it was discovered that she had a mild right thoracic curvature and spasmodic nodules in her right upper trapezius. Blindly practicing back strength only made the unbalanced muscle tension more serious. Here we can actually see the differences in views in different fields: Doctors in public rehabilitation departments will always put bone diagnosis first. Problems such as scoliosis exceeding 20 degrees and structural deformities of the foot and ankle must first be solved with braces or clinical intervention. They cannot be solved by training at all. ； Posture coaches in the fitness field often do muscle tension assessment first. The two ideas are actually completely complementary. No one is right or wrong. Skipping the inspection and training directly is a mistake.

To eliminate the risk of bone problems, the first thing you need to deal with is not the weak muscles, but the tense muscles that are stiff and losing elasticity. To put it bluntly, many posture deformities are not caused by your "lack of strength to stand up straight." It is caused by certain muscles pulling the bones in the wrong direction. For example, in people who sit for a long time, the iliopsoas muscle is so tight that it snaps when raising the leg, pulling the pelvis forward every day. Even if you practice a hundred glute bridges, you can't withstand its pulling force. There are more options for release. Physiotherapists like to use fascial knife and ultrasound to treat deep nodules. Ordinary people can use a foam roller or a tennis ball at home to roll for 10 minutes. Many people think that traditional Chinese massage and acupuncture are "IQ taxes." Of course, it doesn’t mean which method is better. For people with thin muscles, it’s easy to press out large bruises with a fascia knife. For those who are afraid of pain, hot compresses and a foam roller are enough. There is no need to follow the trend and choose the most expensive one.

After relaxing the tense areas, you will obviously feel that your body is "no longer pulled". At this time, it is useful to strengthen the weak muscle groups. Interestingly, many people seem to have the same posture problem, but the core reasons are fundamentally different: they also have rounded shoulders, some people have tight pectoralis minor muscles and weak middle and lower trapezius muscles, and some people have valgus ribs, and the body actively buckles the shoulders forward in order to maintain balance. If they all follow the same shoulder opening tutorial, the latter are likely to get more chest tightness as they practice. I met a sophomore student before who had typical rib valgus and rounded shoulders. After practicing shoulder opening exercises online for a month, he always felt out of breath. Later, he adjusted the training focus to first train the transversus abdominis to retract the ribs, and then added a small amount of activation of the middle and lower trapezius muscles. After half a month, he felt much more comfortable. There is no need to worry about which training system to choose. Pilates focuses on core control. People with no sports foundation are less likely to get injured when getting started. ； Conventional strength training focuses on improving the strength of target muscle groups. For those with fitness habits, adding two isolation movements will be very efficient. ； Yoga focuses on overall extensibility. It is also suitable for people with poor joint mobility to lay the foundation. There is no saying that anyone is more advanced than the other.

The link that is most easily missed by everyone is actually the establishment of daily action patterns. Many people spend 2 hours a week doing physical exercises, and for the remaining 166 hours they either slump on the sofa and scroll through their phones, or stretch their necks forward to stare at the computer. The little bit of muscle memory they develop is simply not worth what they do every day. I once had a programmer client who practiced head extension repeatedly for half a year. Later, I didn’t increase the amount of training. I just raised his workstation monitor by 12 centimeters, replaced him with a supportive waist support, and asked him to stand up every hour to get a glass of water and walk for 30 seconds. In two months, the problem of forward neck improvement improved by almost 60%, which was much more efficient than his previous blind practice.

Regarding the popular posture-correcting belt, the industry has actually been arguing for several years. Many rehabilitation doctors are very opposed to wearing posture correction belts for a long time. They feel that it will replace the core muscles to exert force. Over time, the muscles will degenerate and they will become more and more dependent on them. ； However, there are also clinical studies showing that for people who have just established correction habits, wearing them for 1-2 hours a day as a "posture reminder" can indeed reduce the frequency of unconscious slumping of the waist and holding the breasts, so it is not completely useless. The key point is actually don’t treat it as a life-saving straw. If you wear it for more than 2 hours a day, don’t expect to rely on it to win.

After all, posture correction is not about exam-oriented education. There are no standard actions that must be done, and there is no need to stare at other people's square shoulders or swan necks. You can stand comfortably and sit comfortably without getting tired. You won’t suffer from shoulder and back pain every now and then. Others will see you stretching naturally. This is actually the best posture. You won’t end up in pain all over because of the standard draft on the Internet.